Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans was named the 2019-20 Most Improved Player, announced the NBA on Monday.

The past one was Ingram's fourth season in the league. Having struggled in the first three seasons in the Los Angeles Lakers, Ingram was reborn in the New Orleans. The 22-year-old improved his numbers from 18.3 points +5.1 rebounds +3.0 assists to 23.8 points + 6.1 rebounds +4.2 assists. He was even voted to play the All-Star debut in his career in Chicago in February.

In the competition for the MIP award, Ingram received 42 first-place votes, 35 second-place votes and 11 third-place ones to collect 326 points, leading Bam Adebayo (295 points) and Luka Doncic (101 points).

"It was a great year for me. People are seeing my work that I've put in, and it's definitely shown on the basketball floor," Ingram told TNT.

When he joined the league in 2016, Ingram was a guy with sharp merits and demerits. He has the rare dribbling and shooting abilities for a 2.06-meter-tall player with 2.21-meter wingspan. Driving, passing, shooting, he could do a little bit of everything. Meanwhile, Ingram lacked power and explosiveness. He did not do well under pressure, both physical and mental. Compared with making risky passing or shooting in defender's face, Ingram back then preferred to leave the ball for a teammate to deal with.

The above struggling was understandable since he spent the first two years in chaotic Lakers. The team selected three talented young man who all needed to have the ball and did not know who to trust. After that, LeBron James came and he never got along well with another playmaker. Moreover, Ingram also suffered from a deep vein thrombosis in his arm in his last season with the purple and gold.

Leaving LA sent Ingram away from spotlights and media attention, giving him enough peace to work on his game, and he did a good job in that. He became more confident as he did not rush to dodge defender completely – with his size and long limbs, most defenders could not challenge Ingram when he launched an attack. The New Orleans gave him enough chances he needed so Ingram was able to finish 5.3 screen plays per game – the fifth-most among all non-guard players after Doncic, Andrew Wiggins, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Of course Ingram still has a lot things he can refine – his defense, his off-ball play, his strength – but he already proved that he's built for a superstar, just like the other two "monsters" who shared his physical feature, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

That should give the New Orleans a good reason to keep this restricted free agent with a maximum deal. He's only 22 years old, just saying.